Newcastle Vipers had a frustrating night at the hands of Peterborough Phantoms, but Clyde Tuyl insists they are slowly starting to gel as a team.

The Vipers skated to a 4-1 victory over the English Premier League team at Newcastle's Arena last night, and general manager Tuyl believes there were signs that coach Rob Wilson's new-look team are clicking on the ice.

Wilson brought in six new players this summer, and clearly it is taking time for him to find his best lines and for his players to learn each other's games.

But while there was no goal glut, more importantly Newcastle have another win under their belt and now the Vipers are just a point behind in-form Bracknell Bees, having taken seven points from their opening four Winter Cup games.

Tuyl said: "I'll give Peterborough credit, they played well and defended well, though we controlled the match. We also used the bench to give a fair amount of ice time to guys who don't normally see much ice.

"The score wasn't that high but there were moments when you could see things click. There was a little bit of puck movement and they were getting a better feel for each other. So we've made some progress in that sense."

After a scoreless opening 10 minutes, defenceman-turned-forward Steve Gallace opened the scoring when he forced the puck over the line amid a goalmouth scramble.

Two late goals in the period, from Hilton Ruggles and Robin Delacour, made it 3-0, but Newcastle were finding it hard work and former Viper Stephen Wall, in the Phantoms goal, was enjoying his return to his native North East.

Shaun Johnson made it 4-0 with 34 minutes gone but before the second interval Steven Maile pulled one back for Peterborough, with Wall getting an assist on the breakout.

Simon Leach sat out last night's game with a groin problem, and Wilson will assess the defenceman's fitness ahead of the weekend's games.

The Vipers face the much-improved Hull Stingrays in a Winter Cup game at Newcastle's Arena on Saturday (6.30) and travel to Dundee on Sunday.